Triumphrat

Keith G · 03-18-2008

I have an '03 Bonnie and an '05 T100 and have modded them both for better performance and better (?) sound with AI removal, high airflow bellmouths, uprated main jets to suit and Norman Hyde HBS105 'Classic' silencers.

Both bikes seem to have responded to these mods quite well and both go and sound more like the 'real thing'! The problem is, while I'm very happy with the Bonnie going and sounding like a bad ol' boy, I'm not sure that I want the extra noise (these cans are LOUD) all the time on the T100!

I temporarily fitted the baffles (mutes) that are supplied with the cans but they are a poultice and didn't seem to make any difference!

The question is, if (stress if) I put the original silencers back on and didn't change the other bits back to the original (all of which I still have) what would be the consequences? Is it likely the bike will run totally OK but with just a quieter exhaust note or will it be all messed up? I know there may be some performance drop-off, but that's not important - the T100 revved into the red willingly (and frequently) both before and after the changes!

I know 'go ahead try it' is the answer, but wondered if anybody had done anything like this before I go disturbing the new silencers, as they are fitted perfectly and are rock solid.

Any ideas/observations would be be much appreciated!

357Bob · 03-18-2008

As I read this I was going to say go ahead & try it but then you said that. I was thinking about doing the same thing. I have the bellmouth with 120 jets, 2 shims & foam Unifilter with Emgo mufflers. (I use the word "mufflers" lightly) They are loud. But not as loud as the D&D's I have also. I thought I might want to just put the originals on for a spell. So I guess you or I will have to be one of the first. I want to get my 450 Honda running first then try it. But I also have another stock set of mufflers I bought that I want to de-baffle. I should retire. Work takes up so much time.
Bob.

BillT100 · 03-18-2008

The J.C. Whitney part #ZX013522R baffle is what you need. It is sized to fit inside of a 1.5" OD pipe so you will need a sleeve to fit it into the NH Toga/Classic muffler tailpipe which is 1.5" ID. I used a piece of electrical conduit from a home improvement/hardware store that was 1.5" OD and the baffle fit inside perfectly. I'll try to take a couple of pictures later of the baffle with the sleeve that I fitted and post them here. If you fit these baffles you may have to go down one size on the main jets. For whatever it's worth, I don't run with the baffles in all the time and I don't change the jets when I put them in or take them out. Here is a pic from jcwhitney.com.

CAPTDON · 03-18-2008

I still have the gutted stockers- to the 1st restrictor plate, & the sound is real sweet- like a Triumph should sound friom the factory! Will keep them till theg get trashed in some form. They look good (cut odd 2 " ) & sound real good as well! A little heavy but will go the limit!
Friend has D&D's- WAY too loud!!! A Triumph should sound like a Triumph!! not set off car alarms!! Till 05 - the stockers gutted sound real sweet! Cant comment on after that, as they changed a lot then! Since you got them off- do a pro job on gutting. You will like the results!

Keith G · 03-19-2008

OK gentlemen, thank you for your responses. So, in reverse order:

CaptDon, I daren't butcher the one pair of remaining stock pipes in case I need to fit them to get an MOT certificate some time in the future - it's getting tougher in the UK to get noisy pipes through in some places! (I sold one pair of my stock exhausts to someone who had bought a T100 with noisy cans fitted and couldn't get an MOT where he lived!)

Bill, those baffles look like no more than a (much) better-made version of the 'mutes' I've got and have tried (temporarily fixed only - wired, not bolted on) and which weren't too convincing - see 'Mutes' pix here:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show/show.htm

(While I'm pointing, note the nifty number plates on both my bikes!

)

Bob, I pootled across town in heavy traffic this morning and nobody gave me so much as a glance, so I think it will be only a question of whether or not the continual high sound level (at greater speeds) gets on my own ****, rather than what anyone else thinks! I spoke to my learned/experienced friend in the bike shop just now and (FWIW) he reckons the bikes are too lean anyway on the stock exhausts/jets and that the stock exhausts should go straight back on and the richer jetting would be fine with them. If I do refit them, I'll post here and let you know how it goes!

(Jeez, it ain't nothing like the old days, is it?

)

BillT100 · 03-19-2008

Keith,

The baffles/mutes that I fitted from J.C. Whitney work significantly better than the mutes supplied with the NH Toga/Classic silencers. I think it's a good compromise between the stock silencers and the Classics from NH without any baffles. The Whitney baffles have tabs that protrude into the passage way unlike the NH mutes that don't, so they actually work at reducing the noise level. By the way, this is a common baffle that you may be able to find from other sources. IIRC I used 4mm tapered head machine screws with a nut on the inside of the tailpipe to hold the baffles in place. Sometimes I put the baffles in the silencers if my wife is riding with me because she doesn't particularly like the noise level without the baffles, even with ear plugs and helmets. Gotta' keep the peace.

CAPTDON · 03-19-2008

They really arent loud at all!! Actually quite mellow. If done "Rite as I mentioned) , they will pass anything there or here.To look at them- youd never notice unless you worked for Triumph! The stock pipes as they came were so choked up they wouldnt even blow out a match @ idle!! All gutting them did was open the air flow so the bikecould breathe. Walk 20 ft away & you can barely hear it running. Hit it @ WOT & she will talk a nice mellow tune w/o annoying anyone. If I knew how to do anything on a comp , I would post aa sound thing. Can look @ them on albums search = Capt Don. Only pic I have as I cant make it work rite. Grey Goose posted it for me. As I said- very hard to tell they arent factory/ stock to the layman!! I just hgope I dont ding em or something- Id be lost?

Keith G · 03-19-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillT100

The J.C. Whitney part #ZX013522R baffle is what you need.

<snip>

Here is a pic from jcwhitney.com.

OK Bill.thanks for that! I've had a look at the site (none too obvious international shipping, tho) and if it's going to be the baffle route I'll probably get a pair.

Nice prices - they'd be double that over here!!

Keith G · 03-19-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAPTDON

They really arent loud at all!! Actually quite mellow. If done "Rite as I mentioned) , they will pass anything there or here.To look at them- youd never notice unless you worked for Triumph! The stock pipes as they came were so choked up they wouldnt even blow out a match @ idle!! All gutting them did was open the air flow so the bikecould breathe. Walk 20 ft away & you can barely hear it running. Hit it @ WOT & she will talk a nice mellow tune w/o annoying anyone. If I knew how to do anything on a comp , I would post aa sound thing. Can look @ them on albums search = Capt Don. Only pic I have as I cant make it work rite. Grey Goose posted it for me. As I said- very hard to tell they arent factory/ stock to the layman!! I just hgope I dont ding em or something- Id be lost?

Captain Don - thanks, but it ain't gonna happen! I've got two bikes here and only one set of original pipes which I might need for an MOT on either of them in the future! (Or to sell one??

)

Let me bring you up to speed re Not So Great Britain - here the meek have inherited the earth and to keep it they have built a surveillance/computer cross reference system that Stalin could never have dreamt of! Too many bike shops now are scared of losing their MOT licence by passing stuff like dodgy exhausts! I'm OK atm, as I have a pal who can do it (due here any minute) and will happily pass them (without any Noisy Pipe Tax), but if that goes South for any reason, I'm only in the same boat as the next guy!

(I imagine that a replacement pair of factory cans, should they ever have to be bought, would be somewhere in the order of 400 quid/800 bucks!!)

CAPTDON · 03-19-2008

I hear ya!! Too bad you sold the 2nd set? They dont have inspection here in Fl- but do all over. They are talking on cracking down on noise tho- the strait pipe HD macho boys we got to thank for that!! I love the gutted stockers! As you said will cost a fortune to replace!!
I have been thinkin of gettin some Dunstall replicas- just to save my orig ones . They have done 4yrs of service & slightly showing age. The Dunstalls cost $49.95/ ea & are basically throw-aways after 2-3 yrs. Look nice but as said- you get what you pay for & they are real thin on the metal! I want to keep my stock pipes not to pass inspection- but to put the bike back to stock if it is warranted? The Emgo's (properly wrapped) are quite mellow. Emgo/dunstall reps will prob be the next thing for the ole girl? Do you still have that rats nest lookin thing they called a baffle in the stockers?? God I cant see how ANY air got thru that thing!!